The recently-recognised Bahama Oriole is one of the rarest birds in the Caribbean. It is now found only on the island of Andros where it faces a number of critical threats that suggest it is on the edge of extinction.

Cracids are the most endangered family of terrestrial birds in the Neotropics, with a third of species threatened with extinction according to IUCN criteria. Of these, three are Critically Endangered with the Trinidad Piping-guan believed to have the smallest population and range size of all extant cracids.

RESPECTED animal ecologist and conservation scientist Dr Peter Marra has waded into the debate over Font Hill in St Elizabeth, insisting that the site ought not to be developed given its ecological value.

The International Bicknell’s Thrush Conservation Group (IBTCG), an alliance of scientists, conservationists and governments, has unveiled a plan to protect one of North America’s rarest songbirds, the Vulnerable Bicknell’s Thrush, across its entire range from Canada to the Caribbean.

On July 26th, community-based organizations and NGOs in Ecuador, such as C-CONDEM (the National Coordinating Organization for the Protection of Mangrove Ecosystems) celebrated the 2010 International Mangrove Ecosystem Protection Day under the slogan Let’s recover shellfish! Outreach and awareness activities took place in all coastal provinces and in the capital, Quito.

The recently established Aruba Birdlife Conservation Foundation have just visited the Governor of Aruba, Mr Fredis Refunjol. The Governor was informed of the role the foundation intends to play in conserving Aruba’s nature in general and more specifically the island's wild birds, and the Governor pledged his support for their work.

A large and healthy population of Chuck-will's Widow Caprimulgus carolinensis has been discovered on Andros, Abaco and Grand Bahama. The species has long been considered a rare to uncommon winter visitor to the Bahamas, but surveys in 2007 and 2009 have totally changed our understanding of this nightjar, highlighting the need for similar surveys (for a number of endemic and globally threatened nocturnal birds) throughout the Caribbean.

Located in the Piura region of Peru, the most austral mangroves of the pacific coast are found at San Pedro de Vice. Together with the Virrila estuary and the lakes of Ramon and Ñapique, they make up the Piura wetlands complex, of great importance to migratory shorebirds, with more than 20 species using the complex as stopover and wintering sites.

The degradation of coastal ecosystems, such as coral reefs and mangroves, could cost the tourism industry in the Dominican Republic nearly USD $100 million and threaten the livelihoods of Dominican fishermen who depend on these ecosystems for survival.

Zapata Rail is a very poorly-known waterbird now confined to the Zapata Swamp in western Cuba. The bird’s elusive nature has caused confusion within the ornithological community as to its status – confusion that may have unwittingly provided a smoke screen to a very real threat that may be driving the species to extinction.